Affordable Care Act turns 3
The Affordable Care Act turned 3 years old this weekend.
Saturday marked the third anniversary since President Obama signed the health reform bill into law. And even after three years, the American public is still confused about what exactly the law entails.
The Kaiser Family Foundation’s monthly tracking poll found that 2/3 of the uninsured and a majority of Americans overall say they have too little information to know how the Affordable Care Act will affect them.
The poll asked people a series of questions regarding the law. Here are some of the findings:
- 48 percent of respondents said they haven’t heard anything about whether their state is planning to create a state-run health insurance exchange or marketplace where people who don’t get coverage through their jobs can shop for insurance (Washington will).
- 78 percent of respondents said they don’t know whether their state plans to expand Medicaid (Washington will).
- 41 percent of respondents want to keep Medicaid unchanged; 52 percent want it expanded to cover more low-income people.
- 37 percent of respondents hold a favorable view of the Affordable Care Act; 40 percent hold an unfavorable view.
- 62 percent of respondents say they haven’t been affected by the law yet (This week’s Live Well poll asks this very question. You can weigh in here).
- 41 percent of respondents say they don’t know how the law will affect them.
- 45 percent of respondents think the quality of health care in the country will get worse as a result of health care reform; 24 percent think it will get better; 26 percent think it will stay the same.
The Kaiser Family Foundation also created a health reform quiz so you can test your knowledge about the Affordable Care Act. You can take the quiz here. (I scored a perfect 10 out of 10!)
Marissa Harshman
I'm the health reporter for The Columbian newspaper in Vancouver, Wash. I started at The Columbian -- my hometown newspaper -- in September 2009. Reach me at marissa.harshman@columbian.com or 360-735-4546.